Top 10 Cryptids you have never heard of

Cryptology finds it origin in the Greek words kryptos that means hidden and zoology which can be literally translated into the search of animals that are believed to have existed but their existence is not yet proven. Unlike dinosaurs and woolly mammoths whose fossils have been found others gain their suggestive existence in myths and legends like the much disputed Big foot and the Loch Ness monster and are termed as cryptids

Following is the list of ten cryptids which are widely believed to have existed or are in existence but there is a subtle proof yet to be found

10. Aswang

Aswang is also known as tik-tik (from the sound that marks the approaching of an aswang) wak-wak and soc- soc in regional tongues, is a Filipino legend. It is described as an evil creature a combination of vampire and werewolf and is amongst the most dreaded mythical urban legend

though the account vary region from region the only trait common is that it feeds on the corpses of dead people and is inherently female. They are shape shifters and may live as regular townspeople even turn themselves into strays. They replace their victims with doppelgangers. This living cadaver will have bloodshot eyes and pale skin, this facsimile return to the victim’s house only to die in a few days

9.Megalodon

Megalodon meaning Big tooth is an extinct species of shark and are assumed to be the largest and most powerful predators vertebrate in their time. When the fossilized teeth of megalodon were found they were believed to be the tongues of dragon, petrified due to a curse it was only in mid-16th century that a possibility of stockier version of the great white shark was introduced

On the basis of the tooth found it is estimated that megalodon might have been around 53 to 70 ft. long weighing a humongous 103 metric tons. The reasons for their extinct was apparent sea level drop and climate change which led to acute food shortage

8. Megacondas

if you jump at the mere mention of reptilians then this entry is not meant for you. The sightings of giant anacondas have been recorded ever since the discovery of South America the scariest being the legend of a 50 metre megaconda (a staggering 150 feet) though a normal anaconda can just grow to a size of 20 feet though the most disputed is the verification of 26 to 39 feet anacondas

However historian Mike Dash claims to have heard of larger specimens as long as 148 feet

Though without scales and photographs it is hard to prove the credibility of these claims. Although the rumors persist of giant snakes known to native tribes in the Amazon region as “Yacumama” or “black boa” whose burrow was found by Jeremy Wade recorded in one of the episodes of River Monsters

7.Skyfishes

Skyfishes! They might be floating around you as you read this entry and before you freak out, you’d be glad to know that most of them are claimed to be harmless. First documented by José Escamilla in 1994, they are claimed to move so fast that it makes them almost invisible to the human eye. On examining the clip by frame by frame he witnessed small flying things zipping around at an unbelievable rate of speed, they can be around 2 inches to even 100 feet in length , which he uses an explanations for bizarre sighting in cloudy sky. They move at a staggering 150 to 100 miles an hour. Though without a specimen at hand to examine it’s difficult to prove their existence

6.Ebu gogo

Yet again a disputed cyrptid but many believe that Ebu Gogo are amongst the many undiscovered inhabitants and tribes in the world. Many of the Tolkien’s fans claim they have finally found the hobbits.

This one comes from Indonesia from the Nage people of Flores they describe Ebu Gogo around 1.5 m tall and as exemplary walkers and fast runner. They are believed to have been hunted by the human inhabitants in the late 20th century

5.Dover Demon

Till date there’s been just three sparse sighting of Dover Demon but all of them give the similar chilling accounts of what they think is a ufological creature, described as unearthly looking with a rather large, watermelon shaped head and glinting orange eyes , slender arms and legs which it used to grasp onto the pavements. It had rough sandpaper like skin with no nose, ears or a mouth moving about producing a skin crawling sound. The colour of the eyes is disputed though the rest of the account is similar

4. The Thetis Lake Monster

The Thetis Lake Monster’ first seen in 1972,Thetis Lake outside British Columbia in Canada by a local man but the closest counter comes from two teenagers who described this creature roughly similar to Gill man from the Creature from the black lagoon. One of them claimed to have been hurt by it. It had three webbed toes and fingers along with barbed fins on its skull, roughly triangular in shape about the height of 5 ft. When the story was under investigation two more people claimed to have seen this creature which had a human like face, two tails and a scaly silvery blue skin. While two original witnesses claimed to have fabricated the story but the other witnesses held on to their accounts

3. The Bloop

No one has seen The Bloop but they have just heard it. And from the noise it made less than 5000 km below the sea – surface, it came to be known as the bloop. The only recording is an audio with faint sounds. Though scientists claims it could be something of an ice quake but ardent horror myth fans beg to differ according to them it could be the mythical beast Cthulhu as the location where this sound was recorded is just 1760 km away from the sunken city of R’yleh. And since vast areas of the oceans are still unexplored, it just gives a rigid base to the icy believers of Bloop and Cthulhu

2.Min Min lights

Min-Min Lights is the name given to a weird illuminating formations oft reported from Eastern Australia. The legend has it that they will keep appearing on a traveller’s trail and the one who catches it shall never return to tell the tail. They are described as fuzzy, disc shaped lights that appear to hover just above the horizon. Though some say it’s dim while other describe as quite bright. The three scientific explanation of the phenomenon are Bioluminescence, Geophysical Lights and Refraction or optical illusion much like the skylights. Though a more believable explanation could be Fata Morgana, the unusual form of a superior mirage that appears like a band over the horizon , most likely to be observed in a desert ( water body mirage) in the sea ( distant object seems to be shape shifting)

1. Will-o’- the- wisp

Yes, it’s just what you think it is if you are a huge fan of Scottish princess, Merida you might be aware of these tiny little spirits. Though in reality these wisps might not appear so cute or lead you to a witch’s house. These are atmospheric lights seen by travellers over bogs, marshes or swamps. They are also known by a variety of names which may ring a bell, jack-o’-lantern, hinkypunk and hobby lantern
It is also a world-wide phenomenon, while in continental Europe they are held to be mischievous spirits of dead and fairies, in Northern European areas they are known to be the guardian of buried treasures, they loom large over treasure chest hidden underneath the ground. In Asia it is called Aleya by the Bengali people, especially the fishermen who consider it a good omen as it helps them avoid future dangers while in Western part of Indian sub – continent it is known as cheer batti, sightings reported from the Rann of Kutch near Indo-Pakistan border. Far on the eastern side it’s called Hitodama or human soul in Japan while in South America they are known as Boi tata.